Carry Help Center

How to invest in crypto with Carry retirement accounts

There are three different ways to invest in cryptocurrencies with Carry.

1. Through Bitcoin ETFs

2. Through a Carry Self-Directed IRA (Roth and Traditional)

3. Through a Carry Solo 401k

Bitcoin ETFs

You can invest in Bitcoin ETFs through Carry’s integrated brokerage, allowing you to get exposure to Bitcoin without needing to own any yourself. Bitcoin ETF trading is available in all Carry retirement plans and brokerage accounts.

To invest in Bitcoin ETFs through Carry, open the retirement account you want to invest from and fund the account through a contribution or rollover. Then, head over to the Investing page, and click ETFs.

Search/select the Bitcoin ETF that you want to invest in.

Select the account you want to invest from, enter the dollar amount you want to invest, and review and submit your order.

Bitcoin ETFs allow you to get exposure to bitcoin without actually owning any bitcoin yourself. If you wish to directly purchase bitcoin, or invest in other cryptocurrencies, you can do so with Carry’s Self-Directed IRAs or Solo 401k (outlined below).

Self-Directed IRA

You can invest in crypto natively on the Carry platform with Carry’s Self-Directed Traditional or Roth IRAs. Our 3rd party trust company uses an institutional Coinbase account on the backend.

Step 1: Open a Carry Self-Directed Roth or Traditional IRA

On the main screen, click Add New Account

Open a Self-Directed Roth IRA or Self-Directed Traditional IRA, or both. It takes less than 10 minutes to go through the application.

A Roth IRA is funded with post-tax income but gives you tax-free withdrawals in retirement. A Traditional IRA is funded with pre-tax income, giving you a tax deduction on your contribution, but withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. Learn more.

Step 2: Invest in crypto in the Carry app

Once your accounts are approved, you can go ahead and buy crypto through your self-directed IRAs.

Go to the Investing tab, and click View Crypto.

Choose the crypto you want to invest in.

Select the account you want to invest from.

Enter the dollar amount you want to invest. In this example, we’re purchasing $12 of bitcoin.

Review and submit your order, and you’re done!

You can view all of your recent transactions when you visit your account screen. We can see the recent $12 buy of bitcoin was successfully processed.

Solo 401k

Now, let’s look at how to invest in crypto with your Carry Solo 401k.

Buying crypto is a much better experience with our Self-Directed IRAs. To invest in crypto through a Solo 401k, you’ll have to use an external bank account (through our partnership with Solera National Bank), and transfer money into an institutional Kraken account. Refer to this step-by-step guide.

The recommended alternative option is to transfer your funds from your Carry Solo 401k into your Self-Directed IRA. This way, you can take advantage of the higher contribution limits of a Solo 401k, transfer the funds into your Self-Directed IRA, and invest natively in the app.

There is no limit on how much you can roll over from your Solo 401k to your IRA, and transfers are generally tax-free as long as pre-tax Solo 401k funds go into your Traditional IRA and your Roth Solo 401k funds go into your Roth IRA.